Love Thicker Than Blood
by Krabopolis
Summary: After a night of drinking, Remilia is dared to ask Reimu for a date. Despite her natural charm and charisma, she gets turned down. Now, in order to save her pride, she has to figure out how to make Reimu fall in love with her, while making sure she doesn't fall in love with her in the process.
1. Prologue

"I bet that you can't."

The vampire looked up, adjusting her mob cap to keep her hair from falling into her eyes, and looked over at the magician sitting across from her. The smile on her face grew as she leaned back, toasting her cup, holding it up in salute to the challenge.

"Maybe you could not, but I find it difficult to believe that anyone would be able to resist my charms, if I sincerely tried."

This conversation was taking place at the Hakurei Shrine. The usual party was being hosted on the shrine grounds, meant to ease tensions with whatever new residents had appeared and caused an incident. In some ways, this celebration was unique, as the lunarians had declined to join, talking about some kind of earthly impurities, and had quickly returned home to the moon. That hadn't deterred anyone, however, and the party had gone on regardless, with anyone with a name to themselves appearing with food, drinks, and enough alcohol to make an oni's liver cry.

Now the night was late, the stars starting to disappear against the faint glow of dawn, sleeping youkai were scattered about, sprawled out on the grass amongst empty gourds and crumbs of half eaten food. Within the next hour, everyone would be gone, with only a mess remaining.

Cliques formed quickly early on, and eventually, one small circle had formed around the group from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and, oddly enough, Marisa Kirisame. As Remilia had drank and put out an air of charisma and confidence, making idle chitchat with passersby, the ordinary magician had taken to talking with Patchouli. After a while, and more than a few sips of booze, Patchouli had started to feel ill, and Sakuya had taken her home. That had left Remilia and Marisa to talk and become steadily tipsier as time went on.

Eventually the conversation had turned to, as most do, romance. Marisa had hinted at conquests of Alice, and even Patchouli. Remilia told stories of a trail of pretty Romanian girl with bite marks and blissful smiles. Neither believed the other and they'd playfully poked holes in their stories, right up until Marisa had said this.

"If you wanna try to romance somebody untouchable, go try wooing Reimu. That's impossible. I bet that you can't."

Remilia response had drawn an eye roll from the magician, who sipped her drink again. "Really? Cause I heard that a lot of people have tried, but nobody can get her to so much as wink at them." Dropping her cup into the grass, the black and white girl started to list off her fingers. "Youkai, humans, oni, tengu." She was holding up five fingers. "Nobody got anything."

The vampire chuckled. "Only because they were not me. Nobody has ever told be no once I've asked for their hand. Reimu will not be the first." Standing up, Remilia took stock of herself. Pink dress wrinkled, but nothing her hands couldn't smooth out. Small stain near her neck, but turning the collar inward hide that. Primping her hair, she looked more than presentable, certainly more than most of the other partygoers. And putting the laughter of Marisa out of her ears began walking over the slumped youkai as she headed towards the shrine proper.

It wasn't hard to spot Reimu. She was already making headway on the cleaning, brushing off crumbs, empty bottles, and drunken youkai away from the porch, all of it tumbling to the ground to be swept away later. The slight blush she wore signaled she'd been drinking just as much as everyone else. Her shrine maiden outfit was rumpled, her hair frizzled, but some kind of natural beauty still shown through. It wasn't hard to guess why other people had tried to win her hand.

Waiting until Reimu had turned around, Remilia softly stepped up onto the porch, hand folded in front of her, doing her best to play up the cuteness she knew she held. And when Reimu turned around, she bowed, wasting no time in putting forth the question she'd been tasked with asking.

"Reimu, would you be inclined to join me tomorrow night for a-"

"No."

Remilia blinked, her red eyes having to look up at Reimu's face. The shrine maiden hadn't even looked up from her sweeping, as she casually kicked an oni off the porch. "I do not think you heard me correct-" Reimu cut her off again. "You were going to ask me for a date, right? The answer's no."

A little bit flabbergasted, Remilia stepped off the shrine, giving a stiff bow as she left. Within seconds, she wandered back to her previous spot, sitting down on the grass heavily as Marisa snickered. "Told ya."

Remilia picked at the hem of her dress, a small smile starting to grow on her face. "The bet did not have a time limit, did it? That means I haven't lost yet." Smirking, the prideful vampire picked up her parasol opening it as the dawn broke behind her, light streaming through the morning clouds and shining on the shrine. Cast in a protective shadow, Remilia beamed. "Reimu's heart will be mine. It is only a matter of time."

She was already walking away, through the torii gate and down the steps, before Marisa could even go so far as to tell her it was all a joke.

* * *

This is my first fanfic, so please, any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 1

Dawn in Gensokyo was always a quietly hasty affair, the same as dusk was in the outside world. For the many nocturnal youkai, even those that didn't need sleep, this signaled the end of their day, and passing over the rights of the land to the humans. Though there was no rush, Youkai Mountain standing tall to the east, holding back the dawn for at least another hour.

Yawning to herself as she walked the trodden dirt path through the Forest of Magic, Remilia Scarlet wasn't much different. Following the path that fairies had formed over the many years, it wasn't close to being the most direct path to her home, but it had been a long night of drinking. Tired and with a belly full of sake, she was in the mood for a lazy walk through the woods.

As she went, twirling her parasol lackadaisical, she thought back on the dare she'd made with Marisa. It'd been something she'd done just to prove a point, that she, Remilia Scarlet, wouldn't be one to fail where others had. Reimu's immediate rejection had said otherwise. That had stung. But the loophole of Marisa's lack of any time restrictions meant that Remilia could always try again, as many times as she needed until Reimu said yes.

All to prove a point.

Absorbed in her thoughts, she barely noticed the fact that she'd left the forest, taking the winding path that skirted the edge of Misty Lake. The stinging on her hands and face were much easier to detect. Scowling, the vampire tilted her parasol, hiding her skin from the sun. Only a lesser vampire would burst into flames, but that didn't make the bright rays any more pleasant. Narrowing her eyes, she looked over to the red blob the Scarlet Devil Mansion had become in the harsh light.

As she walked, the vampire's mind stirred with possibilities with how to woo Reimu. She'd heard from Meiling that around this time of year, when summer made the chill of the lake pleasant instead of not, that children and young couples would often come to the shore to relax and be with one another. And she'd been told by Sakuya that the gate guard would often join them, which only confirmed how valued of a spot it was.

As she passed by a point that looked particularly nice, framing her mansion in the background, she made a cross in the dirt with her heel. Something to keep in mind, at least. Even if the mark was gone later, she would at least have a general idea of where to schedule a date.

Finally drawing closer to the mansion, she tipped back her umbrella to get a better look. Surrounded by a red brick wall, the western mansion was something that the Scarlet Devil had built up over the course of a century. Each detail had been carefully carved and maintained to give of an air of imposing refinement, a bestial power contained in finery. The paint was especially important. Under the full moon light it seeped down, taking on the appearance of blood, as though the very owner's nature had seeped into the bricks.

In the daylight it just looked like it had been pelted by cherries.

Shaking her head, Remilia approached the gate. Slumped up against the door, hat tilted down over her face, Meiling looked like she was snoozing. The vampire smiled to herself as she approached. Meiling rarely slept. As she drew closer, the red haired woman raised her head, greeting her master with a beaming smile.

"Welcome home, Lady Scarlet!" Holding up her hand in greeting, she reached for the door and tugged it open. "I hope you had a good time!" Inclining her head in greeting, Remilia smiled. "Something like that."

Quickly crossing the courtyard garden, Remilia entered the foyer. Leaving her parasol in its stand, she walked through the halls, heading for her bedroom. Considering that Sakuya hadn't greeted her yet, Patchouli must have still needed her attention. Thinking her best regards to the mage, she went on her way.

There were very few windows in the mansion, for obvious reasons, most of the lighting coming from lamps and magic crystals Patchouli had made. That didn't mean there were none, and passing by one of the heavily draped ones, the vampire paused. Was Misty Lake a good idea?

Grabbing the curtains, she pulled them apart, bathing herself in light. Holding herself there, she looked out over the lake for as long as she could, before drawing the curtains. Blinking the spots out of her eyes, the vampire smiled. From the looks of it, Misty Lake could be made even better for the coming proposal for a date. If the blue fairy playing outside her window could mean anything.

Reaching her room, Remilia sighed. That hadn't been a good idea, as the prickling pain on her arms and face were any indication. Sitting on the end of her bed, she shook her head. Maybe the rejection from Reimu had stung her pride more than she'd thought, if she was doing silly things like opening windows. Tugging off her dress, she leaned back. Clad in her underclothes, she rolled onto her side. She considered getting up and putting on her nightgown, but it was too warm, she was too annoyed, and still just a little too drunk to really follow through with it.

For as pretentious and grand as the Scarlet Devil Mansion was, it's host lived in a very sparse room. Only a few pieces of furniture doted the spacious room. An armchair sat facing the rest of the room, a spot usually taken by her maid while she waited for her mistress to wake. The dresser was positioned close to the bed, with her dressed and underwear folded neatly inside, and a small clock sitting on top.

The window on the far wall only served to make her feel even sillier. This was only here in the rare case that the door would be blocked, to allow the vampire to leave her room without worrying about tearing down her own home. It was heavily draped, with only a sliver at the bottom to signal whether it was night or day.

Rolling around, wresting her covers until she could crawl under them, Remilia slipped into her bed. Thumping her head against her pillow, she yawned, watching the ray of sunlight creep in from underneath her curtains. She watched it crawl, using it to mark the seconds, counting and counting, until eventually her eyes were too heavy to keep open.

She drifted away to the scent of spilt sake, the sight of brown hair, and the swishing of a broom.


	3. Chapter 2

Bright sun, warm winds, and the chill of mist pooling around her feet. To anyone else, this would have been the perfect day to unwind, taking in the summer heat and relaxing on the shores of Misty Lake.

To a vampire, the weather was atrocious and Remilia couldn't wait to get back inside. Even with the largest parasol and heaviest pink dress, the sky was out to get her today.

Tilting her parasol towards the sun, the thin fabric still couldn't alleviate the sting it left on her skin, shade filtering through her clothes. Even so, she couldn't go inside just yet. She had business to take care of. She wouldn't be able to secure her pride with a little help, not that she needed it. It was just to make the experience more pleasant for Reimu, so that her wooing wouldn't fluster her so much.

Dwelling on her thoughts, congratulating herself for a plan well constructed for a few more moments, Remilia braced herself. Swinging down her parasol, the harsh light of the sun jabbed needles into her eyes, burning harshly. Smoke started to rise of her body in plumes, skin reddening quickly under the heat. She paid it little mind, instead raising her free hand in the air, twisting her wrist. No sun could outshine her.

Red light pooled in the palm of her hand, growing as her manicured fingers weaved through it. Brighter and brighter it swelled, growing outwards, spiraling until a malicious burning spear was clutched in her grip. Only then did the vampire smile.

"Divine Lance: Spear the Gungnir."

Remilia only whispered these words, but her magic was happy to respond. Roaring out of her hand with the scream of a harsh wind, it shot through the mist, parting it with the force of a hurricane, stirring up the water. It flew off into the distance, a red dot growing smaller and smaller until it vanished into the horizon. It would probably disperse before it hit anything. Probably. The vampire didn't care much either way.

She had much more pressing matters. Pulling back her shield to the sun, Remilia clicked her tongue in distaste. Not only was her skin burnt and red all along her arms and face, but she's spattered sand that Gungnir had kicked up all over the front of her dress. Now she really was sorely tempted to go inside, but she could see a shadows approaching from above that signaled that she should at least wait until after her discussion to clean off.

"Whatcha' think you're doing, huh!? You almost hit me with that!"

A sense of cold washed over her as the fairy above her descended. Looking little more than a child, Cirno wasn't much to be impressed with. Even with her icicle wings flaring out, beating angrily, it was hard to take the expression of anger seriously. Puffy cheeks weren't exactly frightening. She was already ranting at the vampire, but Remilia quickly tuned her out, instead raising her hand to silence her.

"Good afternoon, Fairy." Giving Cirno her warmest smile, Remilia curtsied, shaking off some of the sand. The ice fairy paused, looking at the vampire in bewilderment, before nodding. "Afternoon, Miss... Hey!" she jumped, pointing a finger at her, "Don't change the subject! Why'd you throw a spear at me!" Not fazed in the slightest, Remilia replied, "To chat with you. I thought the only way to get the attention of the strongest would be through some kind of attack. I thought a letter would be disrespectful to your might."

Remilia didn't remember that fairy. At all. All she had known was that Misty Lake had a fairy that could manipulate ice. All she had to do was ask Meiling for the rest of the details about her, and she knew that she could have the fairy eating out of the palm of her hand.

With how Cirno was puffing up her chest, grinning, the vampire wasn't wrong.

"Heh!" Cirno beamed, "Well, you got the strongest's attention! Whatcha want?!" So loud, Remilia mused, bowing again. "Well, it's hardly a matter for someone as strong as yourself..." "No, no! Tell me! I wanna know!" Remilia held up a hand, covering a smirk. This was too simple. "If you reall must know, I'm going to be hosting a party soon, and was wondering if you wold be willing to assist me with it." The fairy deflated after that, pouting. "That's it?"

Remilia clapped her hands together, shaking her head. "Not at all. Why, the sheer precision that you'll need with your ice, the power. It would be a prime chance to show everyone just how great the strongest is." She didn't even need to ask if Cirno was interested now, the fairy's bulging eyes and goofy grin answered for her. Not waiting for a response, she turned around, brushing sand off her dress. "Stop by the mansion and talk to Sakuya about how you can help. She'll be delighted to direct you." And with that she was gone, the proud laughter of Cirno like music to her ears. Now she could return back to the mansion.

After all, with her sunburns a nice cold bath sounded lovely.


End file.
